National Science Fiction Day

[Gardenman]

I just found out that January is National Science Fiction Day. i will be sure to celebrate

[DNSB]

Science Fiction Day for those outside the USA. It is celebrated on January 2 for those who want to be more specific than the OP. The date was choosen to honor the birthday of Isaac Asimov though his actual birth date was between between Oct. 4, 1919 and Jan. 2, 1920 inclusive. The good Doctor choose to celebrate his birthday on Jan. 2.

[SleepyBob]

Awesome!

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Science Fiction Day for those outside the USA. It is celebrated on January 2 for those who want to be more specific than the OP. The date was choosen to honor the birthday of Isaac Asimov though his actual birth date was between between Oct. 4, 1919 and Jan. 2, 1920 inclusive. The good Doctor choose to celebrate his birthday on Jan. 2.

Interesting. Is there no record of the birth? Otherwise it apears to have been a very complicated prolonged birth.

Also why only outside the USA? For copyright reasons? Ahh, nevermind, it is the wording. "National" is only added inside the US. Still strange.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Interesting. Is there no record of the birth? Otherwise it apears to have been a very complicated prolonged birth.

According to Isaac:

The date of my birth, as I celebrate it, was January 2, 1920. It could not have been later than that. It might, however, have been earlier. Allowing for the uncertainties of the times, of the lack of records, of the Jewish and Julian calendars, it might have been as early as October 4, 1919. There is, however, no way of finding out. My parents were always uncertain and it really doesn't matter. I celebrate January 2, 1920, so let it be.

[cromag]

So, given the choice, he picked the date that made him as young as possible. That's how I would do it!

[pwalker8]

Asimov is one of those authors who I really wish I could get more of his backlist books in ebook format. Basically, what's available is his Foundation series, his Robot series and some odds and ends. Unfortunate given that he produced over 500 books that he either wrote or edited. I would love to get his Black Widower mystery stories. His science books are perhaps a bit dated now, but well worth reading. He was a favorite of mine and the big reason I started reading the magazine with his name on it.

[Greg Anos]

Not to mention his short stories.

[arjaybe]

I'm just glad it's not called Science Fiction / Fantasy Day. I think the conflation of the two genres would have annoyed Asimov, too.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

Not to mention his short stories.

Of course. Magazines were the primary vehicle for getting paid for that generation of SF/F authors, so much of their output were short stories or short novels that lent itself to easy serialization. All the Black Widower stories were short stories. The original Foundation stories were basically novellas that tied together.

Asimov was born in Russia sometime in 1919 or 1920 and died in 1992, some 25 years ago. His second wife is still alive. Perhaps at some point when she dies, one of his children will show an interest in making more of his works available as ebooks.

[Greg Anos]

They will start trickling into the public domain in another 13 years in the US, assuming there isn't another copyright extension. . .

(Another 54 years in life + 70 domiciles)

Originally Posted by arjaybe

I'm just glad it's not called Science Fiction / Fantasy Day. I think the conflation of the two genres would have annoyed Asimov, too.

He would NOT be alone. Sadly, if searching for "science fiction" at Kobo is any guide, "conflation" seems far too soft an understatement for the extent of the catastrophe/desecration/defilement/outrage. Not that Feel strongly about it, of course.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by stuartjmz

He would NOT be alone. Sadly, if searching for "science fiction" at Kobo is any guide, "conflation" seems far too soft an understatement for the extent of the catastrophe/desecration/defilement/outrage. Not that Feel strongly about it, of course.

I have a similar problem searching for horror novels at Amazon. So many urban fantasies and supernatural romances are lumped in that it becomes tough to browse.

[pwalker8]

Combining the two goes way, way back. I don't think I've every been to a store that didn't put the two together. There are a number of authors who go back and forth between the two genres as well as works that blur the borders between the two. I suspect that Asimov associated fantasy with pulp works like Conan the Barbarian rather than the more literary works such as LOTR, or the precursors to LOTR. I tend to read both SF and Fantasy myself, so combining the two works pretty well for me.

[cromag]

I like both genres, too, but I like to keep the stories separate. I don't want witches on my spaceships. It does require some vigilance when purchasing.